The Department for Education (DfE) has published an updated version of the statutory safeguarding and child protection guidance for schools in England, Keeping children safe in education (KCSIE).¹ This guidance replaced KCSIE 2022² when it came into force on 1 September 2023.

The guidance sets out what schools and colleges in England must do to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people under the age of 18.

Our briefing sets out changes made to the guidance.

Updates made in 2023 include:

• clarification around the roles and responsibilities of education staff in relation to filtering and monitoring
• clarification that being absent, as well as missing, from education can be warning sign of a range of safeguarding concerns, including sexual abuse, sexual exploitation or child criminal exploitation
• additional information on online pre-recruitment checks for shortlisted candidates
• information on responding to allegations related to organisations or individuals using school premises.

Updates made in 2022 include:

• incorporating the DfE’s advice on Sexual violence and sexual harassment between children in schools and colleges³
• setting out the safeguarding implications for schools of human rights and equality legislation
• providing more information on managing low level concerns
• reinforcing the importance of talking to parents about children’s access to online sites when away from school.